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NASA 2007 SBIR Phase 2 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Adherent Technologies, Inc.
9621 Camino del Sol NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111-1522
(505) 346-1685

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Andrea Hoyt Haight
adherenttech@comcast.net
9621 Camino del Sol NE
Albuquerque,  NM 87111-1522
(505) 346-1685

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 5 to 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Aging and durability of aircraft in both the military and civilian sectors are becoming major issues as the existing fleet continues to age. Additionally, the increased use of composite structures in the civilian fleet, such as in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A380, make the understanding and/or improvement of composite durability, particularly durability of repairs, even more critical. Several areas have been identified as targets for improvement in composite aircraft repair. These include the development of rapid, low temperature repair methods and associated materials as well as development of the quality of repairs when they are made. Adhesion of bonded repairs is one area that needs to be addressed. In the Phase I program Adherent Technologies, Inc. demonstrated a novel moisture-resistant primer system for use in repairs of standard carbon/epoxy composites used in many subsonic aircraft. Our proprietary chemistry comprised of a reactive coupling agent and a carrier resin compatible with standard aerospace epoxy resins bonds directly to the prepared aircraft composite surface while retaining residual functionality that can be cured directly into the matrix of the repair leading to a covalently bound repair, thereby strengthening the repair interface. An increase in bond strength for primed samples relative to unprimed control specimens was noted; the improvement in the fracture toughness of the bonds was particularly of note. The Phase II effort will focus on the optimization of these primer systems and associated application and activation methods. Water-based systems will also be developed and demonstrated.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This system is being designed to support the need for improvements in durability of repairs for subsonic aircraft.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed primer technology, which will improve the quality of composite bonded repairs as well as composite bonding in general, will used throughout the aerospace composite materials market as well as having potential applications in civilian infrastructure (e.g. CFRP bridge decks and the like). The civilian aircraft market is projected to be a particularly significant consumer.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Composites

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
ThinKom Solutions, Inc.
3825 Del Amo Blvd., Suite 200
Torrance, CA 90503-2168
(310) 371-5486

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
William Henderson
billh@thin-kom.com
3825 Del Amo Blvd., Suite 200
Torrance,  CA 90503-2168
(310) 802-4517

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 8 to 9

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The proposed Phase II project includes the design, fabrication, and testing of a fully-functional 320 element X-band antenna which will serve dual-roles as both the proof-of-design (POD) and the proof-of-manufacturability (POM) prototype of ThinKom's innovative low-cost electronically scanned array (ESA) antenna technology. Simultaneously emphasizing affordability and performance, this antenna subsystem will uniquely enable near-term wide deployment of airborne hazard detection and avoidance radar systems with greatly enhanced performance and functionality relative to currently fielded systems. This technology comprises a proprietary integrated "quasi-monolithic" feed/phase-shifter/radiator topology exclusively realized using low-risk low-cost flight-proven, manufacturing materials, components, and processes. In addition, this architecture is ideally-suited for simplified compact integration with a highly reliable, low-cost, low-power consumption beam steering controller (BSC) utilizing pre-existing COTS components. The expected RF loss through the feed, phase shifter, and radiator of this low-cost/high-performance topology is less than 1 dB at X-Band, which is no greater than (and in most cases less than) that of "traditional" (much) higher cost ESA implementations. Building upon the Phase I preliminary antenna subsystem design and highly successful phase-shifter risk-reduction verification testing accomplished in Phase I, the Phase II program will directly demonstrate and prove both the performance and revolutionary cost reduction potential of this new "no compromise" ESA architecture and technology. In addition to the targeted aviation hazard detection radar/sensor application, other benefiting applications would include ground mapping, atmospheric studies, and launch range surveillance radars and sensors as well as communication applications for which an agile highly directional beam is required such as high-gain LOS and NLOS (SATCOM) Data Links.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The technology is useful for a broad variety of radar and communication applications that are of interest to NASA. In addition to aviation hazard detection, other relevant radar applications include ground mapping, atmospheric studies, and launch range surveillance.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The technology is useful for a broad variety of commerical radar and communication applications similar to those useful to NASA. In addition to aviation hazard detection, other relevant applications include RF communication, as the technology is potentially useful whenever a highly directional steerable beam is required. This includes many distinct "on-the-move" communication systems.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airport Infrastructure and Safety
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
RF

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Optimal Synthesis, Inc.
95 First Street, Suite 240
Los Altos, CA 94022-2777
(650) 210-8282

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
P. K. Menon
menon@optisyn.com
95 First Street, Suite 240
Los Altos,  CA 94022-2777
(650) 559-8585

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The problem of estimating the aerodynamic models for flight control of damaged aircraft using an innovative differential vortex lattice method tightly coupled with an extended Kalman filter was investigated during the Phase I research. The approach exploited prior knowledge about the undamaged aircraft to reduce the order of the estimation problem. Probing maneuvers were designed to improve the observability of the system dynamics. The derived performance model was then be used to determine the aircraft flight envelope, performance parameters and the maneuver limits. The estimated data can be used as the basis for designing safe landing guidance laws for damaged aircraft. Phase II research will refine the algorithms developed during the Phase I research and create a standalone software implementation. Structural dynamic computations and control power estimation will be included in the software. Operation of the software will then be demonstrated at near real-time speeds. All the algorithms and software developed under the proposed research will be supplied to NASA at the end of Phase II. Human-in-the-loop simulations and flight test evaluation of the system will be undertaken during the Phase III work.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed research will contribute towards NASA's Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control program.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed research will provide the information essential for designing safe landing guidance laws for damaged aircraft. Algorithms and software developed under the proposed SBIR work will contribute towards improving the safety of future commercial, military and general aviation aircraft operations.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Intelligence
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
On-Board Computing and Data Management
Pilot Support Systems
Autonomous Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
Computer System Architectures
Expert Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michigan Aerospace Corporation
1777 Highland Drive, Suite B
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-2285
(734) 975-8777

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
John Trenkle
jtrenkle@michiganaerospace.com
1777 Highland Drive, Suite B
Ann Arbor,  MI 48108-2285
(734) 975-8777

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 5 to 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
In a successful Phase 1 project for NASA SBIR topic A1.05, "Data Mining for Integrated Vehicle Health Management," Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC) demonstrated its SPADE anomaly detection software to key personnel in NASA's Intelligent Systems Division (ISD) and with data from our partners at Boeing, SpaceX and GMV Space Systems. The feedback from these demonstrations was used to establish future development directions for Phase 2. Phase 2 will consist of three major efforts: 1) the design and implementation of the Taiga system, a next-generation enhancement of the SPADE software, 2) an investigation into combining complementary functionality of Taiga with existing code at ISD including the Inductive Modeling System, Mariana and others, and 3) the implementation of a prototype automatic parallelizer, in cooperation with subcontractor Optillel Solutions, for a subset of C++ useful for hardware acceleration of machine learning applications. The scope of the interaction with researchers in NASA ISD will be to explore the relationships between IMS and Taiga and gauge benefits such a Data Handling, Feature Reduction, Visualization and Explainability. We will also investigate heterogeneous ensemble methods by analyzing the Mariana system. Optillel's C++ Parallelizer will reduce MAC's development costs for parallelizing C++ code for multi-core chips and clusters. This effort will build on Optillel's existing body of work that supports graphical programming languages, and will extend their technology to the analysis and parallelization of C++ code. Both the Taiga system and Optillel's prototype have significant commercialization potential in industries as diverse as Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing and Aerospace.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
MAC's Taiga data mining platform has a variety of important applications at NASA. The need for next-generation data mining tools to aid in lifecycle support for aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and ships is widely recognized, as exemplified by the scope of the solicitation for this program. The Intelligent Data Understanding (IDU) Group at NASA Ames Research Center is a prime candidate for collaboration in developing and using Taiga. Through productive Phase 1 discussions with IDU, MAC determined that the most relevant area for Taiga at IDU is Discovery and Systems Health (DaSH), whose mission includes monitoring, data analysis, prognostics, diagnostics, and diagnostic decision aids. In this arena NASA will benefit from MAC's experience with Threat Assessment for satellites with the Air Force Research Lab. The Taiga system can be directly applied to problems being examined at DaSH, and it is highly complementary to existing software already being used and tested within IDU, including but not limited to Dave Iverson's Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) and Pat Castle's Mariana. There is important synergy between Tiaga and these packages; with IMS Taiga complements feature reduction, cluster visualization, explainability, fusion and data synthesis for validation, and with Mariana it complements data fusion and parallelization.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Products for discovering novel events and detecting anomalies are quickly becoming indispensable for the proper operation and maintenance of the complex systems employed by modern industry, medical providers and the military. Factories, health monitors, aircraft and other vehicles regularly produce hundreds or thousands of channels of telemetry in real time, which must be monitored for possible indications of failure. These data resources present an extremely diverse market opportunity for Taiga, which will detect events of interest in high-volume data streams of large dimensionality, independent of the raw data source. This diversity is confirmed by the variety of customers who have already expressed interest in MAC's anomaly detection software, including Dow Chemical, Boeing and Space-X. The "Write Once Deploy Anywhere" (WODA) component of Taiga represents another major commercial opportunity. The emerging trend in hardware from single to multi-core systems is exposing a fast-growing requirement in the software industry for intelligent development tools to aid programmers in converting existing non-parallel algorithms to parallel algorithms. After Phase 2, Optillel will be positioned to license its technology for C++ on any Integrated Development Environment and leverage an enormous pre-existing market. MAC will benefit by being the first partner to use Optillel's WODA technology and reduce development costs for multicore-enabled anomaly detection products.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Operations Concepts and Requirements
Telemetry, Tracking and Control
Autonomous Control and Monitoring
Autonomous Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
Portable Data Acquisition or Analysis Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Picometrix, LLC
2925 Boardwalk Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6765
(734) 864-5600

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
David Zimdars
dzimdars@picometrix.com
2925 Boardwalk Drive
Ann Arbor,  MI 48104-6765
(734) 864-5639

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6 to 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
In this Phase 2 project, we propose to develop, construct, and deliver to NASA a computed axial tomography time-domain terahertz (CT TD-THz) non destructive evaluation (NDE) system which will provide true three dimensional images of aerospace polymer, ceramic, and composite structures. Traditional time domain terahertz reflection tomographic imaging captures only a single view of an object, generating images of laminar structure similar to an ultrasound "B-Scan". This reflection tomographic imaging is limited, however, in revealing only the laminar structure which presents a clear specular reflection from each interface. Furthermore, traditional time domain terahertz reflection tomographic imaging has substantial difficulty in determining the layer index of refraction an absorption properties without ambiguity. In Phase 1 we demonstrated the feasibility TD-THz axial computed tomography to generate cross-sectional slices of aerospace materials. This method acquires not one view, but many radial axial views, generating a sinogram which can be used to reconstruct images using a derivative of standard X-Ray CT filtered back-projection. The sinogram can be generated by the transmission absorbance, transmission time of flight, and, in principle, reflection measurements. The reconstructed TD-THz CT images are 3D maps of the absorption coefficients and/or the index of refraction of the subsurface material.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed TD-THz CT NDE imager will be valuable in characterizing the aging and durability of aircraft and spacecraft materials and components. Material examples include Kevlar, Zylon, and other non-conductive polymer matrix composites. Example NDE applications where these materials are used include inspection of soft shell fan containment, thermal protection systems, and composite overwrap pressure vessels. These materials are in systems in which the 3D internal examination of new construction for flaws (voids, disbonds, inclusions, improper geometry and dimensions, and incomplete curing) may be critical. It will be critical to periodically inspect systems for damage, fatigue and chemical degradation.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Polymer matrix composites are used in automobile and ships and many other consumer and industrial products. TD-THz CT 3D imaging applications can include inspection of automobile dashboards, imaging inspection for delamination of printed circuit boards, inspection of pipe insulation, as well as with manufactured parts such as pure plastic and paper products. TD-THz CT imaging benefits homeland security applications under development such as personnel and luggage inspection for concealed weapons and explosives (in luggage, shoes, etc.). TD-THz CT imaging and spectroscopy can inspect items in shipment such as mail, cardboards packages, and plastic and wood crates.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Propellant Storage
Ablatives
Airframe
Erectable
Inflatable
Launch and Flight Vehicle
Testing Requirements and Architectures
Thermal Insulating Materials
Microwave/Submillimeter
Photonics
Ceramics
Composites
Optical & Photonic Materials

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Zona Technology, Inc.
9489 E. Ironwood Square Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85258-4578
(480) 945-9988

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jie Zeng
jzeng@zonatech.com
9489 E. Ironwood Square Drive
Scottsdale,  AZ 85258-4578
(480) 945-9988

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3 to 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
An Adaptive Feedforward and Feedback Control (AFFC) Framework is proposed to suppress the aircraft's structural vibrations and to increase the resilience of the flight control law, in the presence of AE/ASE interactions. Specifically, the adaptive feedforward controller is designed to reduce any atmospheric induced structural vibrations of the aircraft. The adaptive feedback controller is applied as an additive perturbation of the flight control system to suppress any undesired AE/ASE interactions, and prevent the onset of Flutter/Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO) instabilities within the flight envelope of a flexible aircraft. The proposed research effort fits very well within the scope of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center topic "A1.10 Adaptive Structural Mode Suppression," specifically within the Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) effort under the Aviation Safety Program. This research will help the original flight control system to robustly recover from or adjust easily to any unforeseen change during its normal operation due to AE/ASE interactions. In addition, practical concerns will deal with the minimal interference with the original rigid-body controller, as well as its feasible implementation using the standard controller's sampling rate frequency.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Being capable of on-line estimation/monitoring of the elastic modes of the aircraft, the proposed adaptive control technology can be automatically adjusted to attenuate any potential adverse aeroelastic/aeroservoelastic effects of an aircraft before a sustained limit cycle and vehicle damage are encountered. Hence, the proposed project will assist NASA in its goal to achieve an integrated flight control system resilient to failures, damage, and upset conditions unforeseen during the development of the aircraft's original control law. Once this adaptive control technology is developed, it can be readily adopted by NASA for a wide class aerospace vehicles ranging from current to the next-generation designs such as F/A-18 AAW, Hyper X, X-43 and oblique flying wing.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed adaptive feedforward and feedback control framework will have extensive application in non-NASA commercial applications. Firstly, due to the potential Flight Control System (FCS) benefits from avoiding notch filters, the proposed methodology can be used by military and commercial aircraft manufacturers for new aircraft designs, modifications and upgrades. Secondly, it brings a variety of applications in other industries. Among others it can be mentioned: • Acoustic noise cancellation in headphone devices • Reduction of the noise level for rotating fans in computer servers • Suppression and/or attenuation of vibrations in large satellite structures • Cabin noise reduction for the next generation executive transport aircraft, such as the • Marcel Dassualt's Falcon 7X. The noise source can be associated with engine or gust noise. • Vibration suppression across the automotive industry, such as vehicle's engine vibration, adaptively tuning of the suspension in formula 1 racing cars, and so on.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Simulation Modeling Environment
Guidance, Navigation, and Control

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Barron Associates, Inc.
1410 Sachem Place, Suite 202
Charlottesville, VA 22901-2559
(434) 973-1215

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Alec Bateman
bateman@bainet.com
1410 Sachem Place, Suite 202
Charlottesville,  VA 22901-2559
(434) 973-1215

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The potential benefits of advanced algorithms for diagnostics and prognostics, inner-loop control, and other flight critical systems have been demonstrated in a number of research efforts. Because many of the new algorithms differ significantly from the approaches used in most operational vehicles, and because of factors such as non-deterministic behavior due to adaptation, flight certification of the approaches has been challenging. Verification and validation (V&V) of advanced control laws has received significant research attention, and progress has been made in terms of tools, methods, and architectures for facilitating V&V. Building on this prior V&V work, the proposed research will develop innovative methods and tools for validation of diagnostic systems. The Phase I research demonstrated the value of probabilistic analysis in general, and generalized Polynomial Chaos techniques specifically for measuring diagnostic system performance. The Phase II research will further develop probabilistic methods, and will combine them with worst-case analysis techniques to assess traditional diagnostic system metrics, as well as interactions between diagnostic systems and inner-loop control approaches. Building on the CAESAR tool control law validation tool, a software package to facilitate validation of diagnostic systems will be implemented, and the tool will be demonstrated on a representative diagnostic system.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed software tool will be a key enabling technology for flight certification of advanced diagnostic algorithms. Such diagnostic algorithms have significant potential in terms of improving safety of flight in a wide range of fixed-wing and rotary-wing air vehicles. Diagnostic systems are of particular interest in unmanned and autonomous vehicles, because there is limited or no human interaction to aid with fault recognition, or to identify failures and take appropriate corrective action. The proposed technology will be applicable to NASA research aircraft such as the AirSTAR both in terms of certifying diagnostic systems for these aircraft, and in reducing the risk associated with flight testing of new diagnostic approaches on these research platforms. The proposed technology will also aid in realizing the goals of the Aviation Safety Program by helping to transition diagnostic technologies developed by NASA and other to production aircraft.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA aerospace applications of the diagnostic validation approaches include commercial and military fixed-wing and rotary-wing air vehicles, and particularly autonomous and unmanned aerial vehicles. Diagnostic systems play a particularly important role in autonomous systems, which lack human interaction to aid in fault detection and isolation. With growing interest in autonomous vehicles from both military and commercial users, this represents a large potential market. The diagnostic validation procedures will also be valuable for marine and ground vehicles, again, particularly autonomous and unmanned vehicles. Other applications include industrial machinery such as factory automation and power generation equipment. The Polynomial Chaos tools underlying the validation approach will have even broader potential application. For example, these tools are already being applied to analysis of uncertainty in aeroelastic systems, which could easily be extended to other systems involving mechanical structures or fluid flows. Clearly, this represents a huge potential market.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Requirements and Architectures
Telemetry, Tracking and Control
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Autonomous Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
Portable Data Acquisition or Analysis Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Continuum Dynamics, Inc.
34 Lexington Avenue
Ewing, NJ 08618-2302
(609) 538-0444

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Todd Quackenbush
todd@continuum-dynamics.com
34 Lexington Avenue
Ewing,  NJ 08618-2302
(609) 538-0444

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6 to 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Recent advances in propulsion, aerodynamic, and noise technologies have led to a revived interest in supersonic cruise aircraft; however, achieving economic viability for these vehicles requires dramatic improvements in cruise efficiency. Optimization of inlet performance offers a potent method for achieving this goal, and a range of conceptual flow control systems are available to address critical problems like blockage, boundary layer bleed, duct length, and flow distortion. By exploiting High Temperature Smart Memory Alloy (HTSMA) technologies, these concepts can be mechanized into robust, compact and lightweight devices, enabling actuators suitable integration into the inlets of supersonic aircraft. The proposed effort leverages prior successful development of solid state smart structures by the investigators in developing of small scale surface-mounted flow control devices as well as large scale actuation systems for inlet ramp mechanisms actuated via HTSMA technology. The proposed Phase II will build upon the Phase I proof of concept study to further develop a fully integrated active supersonic inlet system, including active inlet ramp and deployable flow control devices, as well as the aero/thermo/structural analysis models required to design such systems and subcomponents. In addition, Phase II will be the continued refinement and characterization of actuator-ready HTSMAs.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
By providing foundational research on innovative concepts for propulsion system components for supersonic transport aircraft, the proposed effort will directly support a wide range of fundamental NASA goals in aeronautics. One key result of the effort will be extended development and characterization of highly promising HTSMA materials, a resource of great potential for high speed and/or high temperature applications in subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic aircraft. In addition, the Phase I effort will lay the groundwork for enabling technology to provide integrated inlet/engine control to ensure safe, stable, and efficient operation for continuous flight above Mach 2. Also, the projected integrated aero/thermo/elastic models of actuator performance to be assembled and validated will assist the development of concurrent engineering tools for analysis and design of smart-materials-based propulsion flow control systems.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
A successful Phase II effort will open the door to prototype testing and eventual implementation of a HTSMA-driven adaptive flow control system. The most direct beneficiary would be next-generation supersonic aircraft that could incorporate these robust, low-profile, low-power flow control devices to permit an optimal balance of improved engine/inlet performance and enhanced engine safety. Successful implementation in this application would also lead to spin-off developments in a number of actuation tasks, including follow-on control concepts for compressor and turbine stages in subsonic or supersonic engines that would directly benefit both civil and military systems. Supersonic cruise technology is also of interest to U.S. Department of Defense agencies, and the developments projected here would directly benefit numerous missile designs as well as both manned and unmanned aircraft systems. Finally, spin-off applications of this technology for control of subsonic engine noise emissions of interest to commercial engine manufacturers, and commercialization of derivatives of the technology to be developed in Phase II for this application will be undertaken in partnership with commercial aircraft engine manufacturers.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Kinematic-Deployable
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Facilities
Structural Modeling and Tools
Computational Materials
Metallics
Multifunctional/Smart Materials
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
30 Forbes Road
Northborough, MA 01532-2501
(508) 481-5058

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Wendell Rhine
wrhine@aerogel.com
30 Forbes Road, Building B
Northborough,  MA 01532-2501
(508) 466-3130

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The overall objective of the Phase II project is to develop lightweight reinforced aerogel materials for use as the core structural insulation material in multifunctional thermal protection systems for next generation hypersonic vehicles. During this Phase II SBIR project, we will build on the successful results of the Phase I effort by optimizing the aerogel preparation methods and conducting a complete study of aerogel properties and capabilities. During the Phase II effort, the aerogel thermal conductivities and mechanical properties will be optimized for use as multifunctional TPS materials for hypersonic vehicles including the capability of withstanding very high heating rates. We will prepare these aerogels by methods that can be scaled-up and manufactured economically. Any issues associated with scaling-up production of the rigid aerogel panels will be determined, and a prototype thermal protection system will be fabricated and tested. Successful completion a Phase II program will result in an optimized formulation for the aerogel component of multifunctional TPS, and performance data will be available for further commercialization efforts specific to the aerospace industry. We believe the Phase II Program will advance the state of the art for the development of the next generation thermal protection system materials.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The material developed in the Phase II effort could have a variety of applications in the aerospace industry and within NASA. Aerogels are the most efficient thermal insulation known, and NASA has several applications that would benefit from the low density, high strength and low thermal conductivity of aerogels. Structural/insulative composite aerogels would have applications in hypersonic vehicles, crew exploration vehicles, and reusable launch vehicles. Aerogels could also be applied to NASA spacesuit applications, and insulation for cryogenic fuel tanks, cryogenic fuel transfer lines, and internal insulation applications on re-usable launch vehicles.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The resulting insulation system from this program will also have far reaching benefits for both military and commercial applications. The materials would also be of interest to DoD for their hypersonic global strike vehicles. The potential also exist for insulating weapons, fuel tanks, electronics, and landing gear bays of military aircraft. There are also numerous and far-ranging applications for durable and reliable insulation systems that would improve the energy efficiency of high temperature industrial processes. Finally, the product will have a commercial impact in areas such as: appliance insulation, airliner fuselages, and industrial furnaces and could also be used as a cryogenic insulation for LNG fuel storage tanks where structural insulation materials are required.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Reuseable
Thermal Insulating Materials
Multifunctional/Smart Materials

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Energy Plus Ltd.
23342 South Pointe Drive, Suite E
Laguna Hills, CA 92653-1422
(949) 583-1197

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Vincent McDonell
mcdonell@erc-ltd.com
23342 South Pointe Drive, Suite E
Laguna Hills,  CA 92653-1422
(949) 583-1197

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
For many applications involving liquid injection, the ability to predict the details of the breakup process is often limited due to the complexity of the two-phase phenomena. Likewise, the ability to experimentally characterize these phenomena is also limited due in part to the need to rely upon visualization tools which are inherently qualitative. As a result, the ability to validate predictions using these diagnostic tools is also limited. In recent years, visualization diagnostics have evolved substantially in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. The advancements, coupled with a tool to conveniently quantify the results obtained relative to the breakup process offer the potential for a marked increase in understanding of this phenomenon. The proposed effort will develop such a tool that will be applied to the problems of pressure swirl injectors and liquid injection into a crossflow. The typical characteristics associated with this type of liquid breakup, such as column/sheet flattening, bending, fracture point, dynamics, etc. will be automatically quantified using the tool proposed. The project will utilize existing results obtained with state-of-the-art high speed imaging, but will acquire limited data as well to validate the tools developed. Comparisons with advanced CFD modeling will be made to demonstrate the application of the software developed.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The project will result in a novel experimental technique that can be applied to existing and new imaging based diagnostic available at NASA. As applied to various two-phase flow problems, the tool developed will facilitate CFD validation as well as increased understanding of the breakup of liquids for a variety of applications. The tool is particularly well suited for quantitative comparison of experimental results with predictions from advanced simulation techniques such as LES and/or VOF or other high fidelity phase interface tracking methods. ERC will work closely with NASA to focus the Phase II efforts on areas/imaging problems of immediate interest to NASA.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The software developed will be of interest to imaging system providers to help improve the utility of their products. Likewise, any owner of such equipment applying it to problems involving sprays or multiphase flows can potentially make use of the software developed. Additional development for other specific applications will further expand the potential use.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Facilities
Feed System Components
Optical
Combustion
Liquid-Liquid Interfaces
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Energy Plus Ltd.
23342 South Pointe Drive, Suite E
Laguna Hills, CA 92653-1422
(949) 583-1197

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Vincent McDonell
mcdonell@erc-ltd.com
23342 South Pointe Drive, Suite E
Laguna Hills,  CA 92653-1422
(949) 583-1197

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
As air-breathing combustion applications advance, increased use of fuel for cooling, combined with cycle advancements, leads to a situation where the fuel can become superheated. While this can lead to potential benefit in terms of the eventual fuel injection process, with enhanced atomization and evaporation, it creates a significant challenge relative design of a system to successfully exploit this behavior. Further, existing computational design tools have not be sufficiently validated to predict the behavior of superheated liquids. Dealing with the superheat behavior in the injection of a liquid fuel requires substantially more physical phenomena to be accounted for compared to a subcooled system. As a result, detailed data and models for this behavior as encountered in practical fuels are needed in order to validate and evolve the models needed. In the work proposed, emphasis will be given to the injection of a plain liquid jet under superheated conditions. Building from the successful Phase I effort, the behavior of internal liquid and external spray in both quiescent and heated crossflow environments will be studied. The models evolved will be incorporated into an existing simulation environment developed by ERC for atomization of liquid jets. In addition, data will be available for CFD validation.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
For Aerospace applications, development of fuel injection schemes that involve fuel superheat will be enhanced by model construction and validation resulting from the proposed project. Both standalone modeling tools and models for incorporation into a CFD environment will result from the project. NASA design tools will be enhanced in general and any simulation platforms needing to incorporate superheated fuel behavior will benefit in particular.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Any application with fuel injection systems involving the potential for superheated liquid will benefit from the proposed work. Examples include automotive applications as well as boiler/furnace applications.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Facilities
Feed System Components
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
ATA Engineering, Inc.
11995 El Camino Real
San Diego, CA 92130-2566
(858) 480-2000

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Parthiv Shah
parthiv.shah@ata-e.com
11995 El Camino Real, Suite 200
San Diego,  CA 92130-2566
(858) 480-2101

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4 to 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
A novel quiet engine air-brake (EAB) is proposed in response to NASA's solicitation for active and passive noise control concepts for conventional and advanced aircraft. The EAB concept is applicable to 1) next-generation, conventional tube and wing aircraft (current generation +1) and 2) advanced integrated airframe/propulsion system configurations (current generation +2, +3). Potential retrofit opportunities are also envisioned. Phase 1 analysis on NASA's Source Diagnostic Test (SDT) fan stage suggests that an EAB could realize three to four decibels overall noise reduction under the approach flight path by generating a swirling exhaust with drag equivalent to one to two turbofan-sized bluff bodies per powerplant. Such drag generation could enable slower and/or steeper and/or aero-acoustically cleaner approach trajectories. A Phase II development program is proposed to 1) perform aerodynamic designs of dual-stream, swirling bypass flow nozzles and experimentally assess their performance and noise, 2) develop conceptual aero-designs that address current engine architecture issues such as pylon duct bifurcations, and 3) develop a prototype design of an EAB for validation in a model-scale rig. The final deliverable to NASA will be a written report presenting design, analysis and experimental results from blown nozzle testing, plus a prototype EAB design.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed technology can assist NASA in the development of next generation quiet aircraft, including tube and wing (current generation +1) and integrated airframe propulsion system configuration (current generation +2). These aircraft are likely to have noise sources from the engine and airframe that have comparable levels. A quiet air-brake device will allow noise reduction by creating drag without the associated unsteady flow structures of devices such as flaps, slats, and undercarriage. In addition, these devices will enable steep approaches, thereby locating the noise source further from the affected communities. An additional application for swirling exhaust flows is in the area of wake vortex avoidance and induced drag management. For example, swirling outflow devices placed on wing tips could be used to counter- or co-swirl relative to the bound vortex that is shed by a finite wing, resulting in potential induced drag reduction or increase (possibly of value in a quiet drag sense).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The commercial potential for this system extends beyond NASA's development programs related to next-generation quiet aircraft. The larger, shorter-term market potential relates to the retrofitting of existing engines so that they can meet future noise standards and/or allow steeper glideslopes without increased noise. The midterm opportunity relates to engines which are currently being developed for commercial deployment in the next seven to ten years by the large engine manufacturers where there is potentially still an opportunity to incorporate features of this concept into the final design. ATA will explore both of these opportunities with Rolls Royce, Pratt and Whitney, and other engine manufacturers more stringently as part of Phase II.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Kinematic-Deployable
Aircraft Engines
Aerobrake

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mechanical Solutions, Inc.
11 Apollo Drive
Whippany, NJ 07981-1423
(973) 326-9920

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Platt
mjp@mechsol.com
11 Apollo Drive
Whippany,  NJ 07981-1423
(973) 326-9920

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The Phase I project successfully demonstrated that the advanced non-contacting stress measurement system (NSMS) was able to address closely spaced modes and blade-to-blade variations (mistuning). MSI's advanced NSMS method uses a radar-based blade vibration measurement system with the following capabilities: • Provides a continuous time series of blade displacement data over a portion of a revolution (solving the under sampling problem). • Includes data reduction algorithms to directly calculate the blade vibration frequency, modal displacement, and vibratory stress (solving the mode inference problem). • Uses a single sensor per stage to monitor all of the blades on the stage. The Phase II work begins by confirming the sensor calibration process, modifying the sensor module so it is compatible as an upgrade to existing NSMS system, and improving and finalizing the NSMS software. The result will be a stand-alone radar/tip timing radar module for current conventional NSMS users (as an upgrade) and new users. The hybrid system will use frequency data and relative mode vibration levels from the radar sensor to provide substantially superior capabilities over current blade vibration technology. This frequency data, coupled with a reduced number of tip timing probes, will result in a system capable of detecting complex blade vibrations which would confound traditional NSMS systems. The hardware and software package will be validated on an existing compressor rig at MSI. Finally, the hybrid radar/tip timing NSMS software package and associated sensor hardware will be installed for use in the NASA GRC spin pit test facility. MSI will also supply the stand-alone radar module to a major engine prime.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Based on the Phase I progress and Phase II plans, Phase II will conclude with the delivery of the system to NASA, GRC (software and radar hardware) and the stand-alone radar module to an engine prime. Improvements in blade vibration measurement capability will significantly reduce the cost and risk of development and operation of gas turbine engines. Customers include any government or engine test facility that currently uses an NSMS system and wants to upgrade or a facility that is considering the use of NSMS. The potential applications include any turbine engine ranging from gas turbine propulsion engines to industrial steam turbines used for power generation. The costs associated with maintenance, downtime, and readiness are already well established and understood by both military and industrial users, so an improved NSMS would be attractive to many types of customers.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Applicable to DOD/commercial engine primes and government test facilities, as well industrial gas turbine and steam turbine manufacturers in the power generation and oil/gas markets. These industrial vendors are striving for improved stage performance and are beginning to more seriously address mistuning issues. With further development a variation of the system has a role in Predictive Health Management (PHM) for aerospace and industrial machines.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Testing Facilities
Feed System Components
Portable Data Acquisition or Analysis Tools
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
M4 Engineering, Inc.
2161 Gundry Avenue
Signal Hill, CA 90755-3517
(562) 981-7797

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Kevin Roughen
kevin.roughen@m4-engineering.com
2161 Gundry Avenue
Signal Hill,  CA 90755-3517
(562) 981-7797

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
M4 Engineering proposes to develop a generalized reduced order model generation method. This method will allow for creation of reduced order aeroservoelastic state space models that can be interpolated across a range of flight conditions. This development will be a significant advance to the process of control law development, especially in the design of control systems required to provide flutter suppression, gust load alleviation, and ride quality enhancement. The proposed technique will be an excellent compliment to modern linear and nonlinear aeroservoelastic analysis methods.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The first NASA application is the S4T program, which is currently a subject of ASE control law development at M4 Engineering. It is also expected that this technology will be directly applicable to the research projects planned in the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). The multidisciplinary nature of the technology makes it an ideal candidate for use any time a very high performance vehicle is designed, where interactions between components, disciplines, and the control system are important. Examples include future high efficiency subsonic aircraft, quiet supersonic aircraft, high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft, hypersonic aircraft, and next-generation launch vehicles (either airbreathing or rocket powered).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
M4 Engineering has active relationships with several prime contractors who are likely users of this technology. These include Boeing Phantom Works, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. These provide excellent commercialization opportunities for the technology. Active marketing to prime contractors and other specialty airframers (e.g., Aerovironment, General Atomics, etc.) will follow these applications. The application of these new reduced-order modeling techniques is expected to find wide application to many aerospace and non-aerospace products. Model reduction for control system development is a widely applicable concept. Examples include the medical engineering field, automotive, aerospace/defense, and alternative energy applications.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Launch and Flight Vehicle
Simulation Modeling Environment
Structural Modeling and Tools
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
On-Board Computing and Data Management

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Zona Technology, Inc.
9489 E. Ironwood Square Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85258-4578
(480) 945-9988

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Danny Liu
danny@zonatech.com
9489 E. Ironwood Square Drive
Scottsdale,  AZ 85258-4578
(480) 945-9988

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3 to 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
ZONA proposes a phase II effort to fully develop a comprehensive methodology for aeroelastic predictions of the nonlinear aerodynamic/aerothermodynamic - structure interaction (NANSI) on ballutes during hypersonic atmospheric entry, including potential surface wrinkling. A time-accurate Boltzmann aerodynamic flow solver, called BGKX, will first be extended to 3D geometries for inviscid /viscous hypersonic flows. BGKX is a robust, unified-Mach-number, all-altitude, viscous flow solver; it provides pressure and heat flux solutions in one step. To handle the complex geometry of wrinkling ballutes, an advanced cartesian grid system, called gridless boundary condition cartesian (GBCC), will be implemented within BGKX. Next, generalized reduced order models (ROM) of the BGKX aerodynamics and nonlinear structures will be established to handle ballute wrinkling and the complex flow. In addition to Direct physical coupling of the aerodynamics and structures, an aerodynamic ROM - structures ROM coupling procedure will be fully developed for efficient aeroelastic applications to wrinkled ballutes. Lastly, we will evaluate the sensitivity of the ballute aeroelastic behavior in specific structural features: the pre-tensioning of the ballute, its inflation, and the existence of structural properties variations around its circumference. ZONA will work closely with the NASA monitor in phase II should an additional ballute configuration be considered.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
ZONA's phase II methodology:nonlinear aerodynamics-nonlinear structures interaction (NANSI)can be used by NASA for: - Inflatable/Ballute design for CEV, space-access/atmospheric-entry vehicles, space station designs, weather balloons,etc. - BGKX, a unified-Mach-number, all-altitude, viscous flow solver, is a robust method for aerothermodynamic applications. - ZONA nonlinear structural ROM (ELSTEP) for efficient handling of the nonlinear structural applications. - Aerodynamic ROM-Structural ROM coupling procedure for efficient aeroelastic/aerothermoelastic applications. - The NANSI software framework can house ZONA and NASA codes (Volterra, LAURA,FUN3D,CFL3D,nasa.ELSTEP) alike for above applications. - NANSI is applicable to NASA aeroelastic projects: transonic/supersonic transports, morphing, launch vehicles, CEV, TPS, TDT activities in Langley, flight testing in Dryden , turbomechinery in Glenn, etc.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
ZONA's NANSI methodlogy can be used by DoD and private sectors for: - Aerospace/Defence sectors: Inflatable for DoD such FASM/Navy ,HARV/Army (ISR airship), Sensorcraft/AF, OFW,Rapid Eye, HALE of Darpa, SSC/store clearance/AF ,Morphing vehicles/AF, MAV/AF/Army etc. - Boeing/Airbus transports and General aviation sectors: NANSI and ROM-ROM will serve as an efficient CFD-based aeroelastic tool for transport and civil/private aircraft design and analysis.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Inflatable
Kinematic-Deployable
Launch and Flight Vehicle
Cooling
Reuseable
Structural Modeling and Tools
Metallics
Multifunctional/Smart Materials
Aerobrake

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Advanced Fluidics, LLC
4217 Red Bandana Way
Ellicott City, MD 21042-5928
(410) 499-9237

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
SURYA RAGHU
sraghu@advancedfluidics.com
4217 Red Bandana Way
Ellicott City,  MD 21042-5928
(410) 499-9237

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6 to 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The overall objective of the proposed research is to design, develop and demonstrate fluidic actuator arrays for aerodynamic separation control and drag reduction. These actuators are based on a compact design of low mass-flow fluidic oscillators that produce high frequency (1-5 kHz) sweeping jets. Preliminary experiments on separation control over a trailing edge flap on a NACA 0015 airfoil, V-22 wing section for download reduction, cavity tones and jet thrust vectoring have shown encouraging results for these actuators. Based on the results from Phase I, and the commercial interest from a leading aircraft manufacturer, we propose to conduct a systematic study of the scaling parameters of the fluidic actuator arrays in relation to the geometric and aerodynamic parameters of the wing using wind tunnel tests on a specially designed airfoil model. This will include the effects of actuator spacing, array location, pressure gradient and wing sweep on the actuator effectiveness. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) will be undertaken to estimate the risk of the proposed technology. A rapid inspection technique will be developed for conducting quick, in situ testing of the fluidic arrays. Projecting to the future, a synchronous array of actuators will also be developed.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed work would be of interest to the ARMD for the aerodynamic flow control needs of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), subsonic fixed wing and rotary wing programs and transonic flow control programs. The fluidic actuators would also be of interest to the Active Combustion Control, Active Stall Control and Active Inlet Control and Jet Noise Control Programs at NASA. Such arrays can also be used for de-icing systems using either hot air or de-icing liquids since the fluidic jets work with both liquids and gases.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Aerodynamic flow control has a large number of applications in the commercial and military aerospace industry. We foresee applications of our technology to separation control over leading and trailing edge of airfoils to achieve high lift and minimum-drag configuration for aircraft wings, control of jet exhaust noise in aircraft engines, intake flow control, and internal flows in gas turbines. One other area of application we are exploring is the flow control and de-icing over wind turbine blades.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Renewable Energy
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Combustion Research and Flow Technology
6210 Keller's Church Road
Pipersville, PA 18947-2010
(215) 766-1520

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Richard Wilmoth
wilmoth@craft-tech.com
6210 Keller's Church Rd.
Pipersville,  PA 18947-2010
(215) 766-1520

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 2 to 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
A new chemical kinetics model and database will be developed for aerothermodynamic analyses on entry vehicles. Unique features of this model include (1) the ability to model chemical kinetics in highly nonequilibrium flows at high altitudes, (2) the ability to predict nonequilibrium dissociation without reliance on traditional continuum kinetic rate equations, and (3) the ability to model complex reactions from fundamental molecular quantum models. The model will permit analyzing high-speed, nonequilibrium flows about entry and aeroassist vehicles based on extensions to Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) codes, and a new database will be developed for these extensions. The new approach offers potential for treating other complex nonequilibrium flow physics including ionization and radiation in a more direct manner than has been previously used and therefore offers potential improvements in accuracy. These tools will provide essential data for assessing the aerothermodynamic performance for a wide range of vehicle designs over a wide range of vehicle attitudes and flight conditions. The improved accuracy offered by our proposed chemical kinetic modeling approach offers significant benefits in the design of vehicles for both unmanned planetary missions and manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed chemical kinetics model software and database has substantive market potential for NASA return-to-space related activities, in terms of its broad-based applicability to vehicle design for both high-altitude continuum (60-85km) and rarefied flights. The new software developed directly supports the design of aeroassist and planetary entry vehicle systems, providing improved accuracy and ease of usage over existing software, thus reducing design costs and producing more reliable designs. NASA programs supported include Constellation, which involves LEO and Lunar return missions based on CEV, COTS which provides manned / unmanned service to and from ISS, and New Millennium which involves a number of planetary entry and sample return missions. The chemical kinetics model will be implemented in existing DSMC software (DAC) used by NASA and its contractors and will have overall features which will facilitate its widespread usage, as ascertained in discussions with key NASA personnel.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Varied DOD groups are extremely interested in this software and programs are in place facilitating widespread usage. We are involved in DOD programs where such high-altitude chemical kinetics is of interest for RV discrimination (MDA), for plume/divert jet signature predictions (AFRL/MDA), and for sensor/seeker window blinding/contamination by divert jets on interceptor missiles at rarefied altitudes (Army). The new model will greatly improve upon calculations at higher continuum altitudes which is of interest to DoD for: (1) RV applications where the wake (with charged species and/or ablation products) provides observable data used for detection and tracking; (2) plume/divert jet observable studies where local rarefaction effects occur and embedded DSMC is needed for accuracy; and (3) multi-body and flux interaction studies at high altitudes where the dense plume/blast interacting with the vehicle must be treated by local continuum methods with the vehicle itself being embedded in a rarefied, high-altitude flow.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Chemical
Fundamental Propulsion Physics
Micro Thrusters
Ablatives
Simulation Modeling Environment
Cooling
Reuseable
Aerobrake

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
MetroLaser, Inc.
8 Chrysler
Irvine, CA 92618-2008
(949) 553-0688

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Drew L'Esperance MetroLaser, Inc.
dlesperance@metrolaserinc.com
8 Chrysler
Irvine,  CA 92618-2008
(949) 553-0688

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Visualization of turbulence and shock phenomena by schlieren imaging has led to important discoveries in aerodynamics, and there has been much interest in applying schlieren methods for aircraft in flight. The goal of this project is to develop the next generation of Schlieren for Aircraft in Flight (SAF) systems. SAF is a technique for obtaining schlieren images of aircraft as they fly past the edge of the sun. In its original form, images were recorded with a time delay and integration (TDI) camera using slit masks that conformed to the edge of the sun. Problems arise if the cutoff mask is not precisely aligned with edge of the sun, or if the TDI camera is not aligned and synchronized with the aircraft flight path. These problems can be solved using the synthetic TDI method, where the aircraft transit of the sun is recorded on high-speed video, and then the TDI process is carried out computationally using programmable masks. Synthetic, TDI-based SAF systems are less sensitive to movement of the observation platform, and can be used with non-cooperative targets whose flight paths and velocities are not known in advance.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Flight testing is often used as a final critical check of aerodynamic designs developed by computational and wind tunnel methods because the information obtainable in wind tunnels is subject to interference. Outdoor schlieren systems using the sun and moon make it possible to examine shock waves and other phenomena from aircraft in flight. Applications exist in all forms of research and development associated with turbulent flow fields, including aero optics, flow control, drag, boundary layer transition, and flow separation. The proposed developments will be extremely important in flight-testing, where few such instruments can perform in a flight environment.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential commercial applications include aero-optics, flow diagnostics, flow-control, free-space laser communication, active laser imaging, high bandwidth video transmission, spectroscopy, and high-resolution imaging.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Optical

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Materials Technologies Corporation
57 Maryanne Drive
Monroe, CT 06468-3209
(203) 874-3100

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Yogesh Mehrotra
ymehrotra@aboutmtc.com
57 Maryanne Drive
Monroe,  CT 06468-3209
(203) 874-3100

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 5 to 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Lead-lag motions of rotor blades in helicopters require damping to stabilize them. In practice, this has necessitated the use of external hydraulic dampers which suffer from high maintenance costs. High operational (lifecycle) cost has prompted rotorcraft industry to use elastomeric lead-lag dampers that result in "dry'' rotors. However, complex behavior of elastomers provides challenges for modeling such devices, as noted by rotorcraft airframers. Currently used analytical models oversimplify the complexity of operational environment and make radical assumptions about operating parameters that, at best, lead to excessively simplistic, and often unreal, device models. These first order linear device models require costly and time consuming experiments to construct them; moreover, they do not directly relate to either the material characteristics or the geometric configuration. In Phase-I SBIR, MTC team pursued a fundamentally radical approach wherein elastomeric dampers are derived from first-principle-based modeling rather than device model-based analyses. Our Phase-I program was tailored towards successfully demonstrating closed loop simulation, i.e. a finite element based modeling of elastomeric materials integrated into a multibody dynamics framework for rotorcraft analysis. During Phase-II, comprehensive and sophisticated material models will be implemented and streamlined into a single comprehensive analysis framework. These implementations will be fully validated against bench and flight test data of Bell M429 elastomeric dampers. These program objectives will be accomplished via collaborative tripartite partnership with Bell Helicopter and Georgia Tech.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
TBF

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
-Robust Vehicle Design Practices -All Rotorcraft Manufacturers will benefit from first principles-based designing of complex products -Automotive, tracked vehicle industry

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Facilities
Structural Modeling and Tools
In-situ Resource Utilization
Ceramics
Composites
Computational Materials
Metallics
Organics/Bio-Materials
Multifunctional/Smart Materials
Tribology

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Sukra Helitek, Inc.
3146 Greenwood Road
Ames, IA 50014-4504
(515) 292-9646

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Angela Lestari
nappi@sukra-helitek.com
3146, Greenwood Road
Ames,  IA 50014-4504
(515) 292-9646

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7 to 8

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
During initial design studies, parametric variation of vehicle geometry is routine. In addition, rotorcraft engineers traditionally use the wind tunnel to evaluate and finalize designs. Estimation of rotor tunnel blockage is significantly more complex than bluff body corrections as the correction depends on operational characteristics such as rotor RPM and thrust produced. This proposal offers to develop an Integrated Design Environment (IDE) which can simulate a complete rotorcraft with or without wind tunnel walls including all the facility effects. At the heart of the innovation are: 1. An automated hybrid grid generator (viscous grids near the bodies and unstructured Cartesian grid everywhere else). 2. A robust and economical incompressible flow solver for the entire system of grids. 3. Momentum source based rotor model that is suitable and economical for simulating configurations with multiple rotors. In Phase I, the proof-of-concept developed used unstructured Cartesian grid for the model and wind tunnel. In phase II, the tool will be extended to hybrid grid with viscous grid near solid surfaces and will include several tools including a simple CAD like geometry manipulation tool and pre- and post-processing tools all integrated in one environment to facilitate ease of use.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA's interest in civil rotorcraft research prompts for a computational tool which has an Integrated Design Environment that is easy to learn and be robust and computationally efficient. The proposed design tool accomplishes this goal, especially in areas where geometric design changes are being considered and wind tunnel testing is integral to the design study. The tool can be effectively used for rotorcraft and V/STOL aircrafts where quantification of parametric variation in the design is essential for success.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The integrated Design Environment with a simple module for geometry manipulation and tools for pre-processing and post-processing CFD simulation will be an asset to any organization with a need to analyze a rotorcraft design or develop a new design. Incidentally the tool acting as a computational wind tunnel will be an asset to other government agencies including ARMY, NAVY and AIR FORCE where wind tunnel testing of rotorcraft and V/STOL aircrafts is routine. In the rotorcraft industry, the proposed tool can be used to assist during the design process. The tool will be designed to be versatile and enable the user to easily vary design parameters. In the educational institutions the tool will help the students to gain insight on different flow phenomena, the effect of geometric variation and wind tunnel walls on the performance and flow field of a rotorcraft.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Portable Data Acquisition or Analysis Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Lawrie Technology, Inc.
227 Hathaway E
Girard, PA 16417-1552
(814) 746-4125

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Duncan Lawrie
duncan@lawrietechnology.com
227 Hathaway E
Girard,  PA 16417-1552
(814) 746-4125

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6 to 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
An all-composite driveshaft incorporating integral flexible diaphragms is described and proposed for phase II prime conractor testing. The approach obsoletes the split lines required to attach metallic flex elements and either metallic or composite spacing tubes in current solutions. Sub-critical driveshaft weights half that of incumbent technology are achievable for typical rotary wing shaft lengths. Spacing tubes are described, which comprise an integral part of the initial tooling but which remain part of the finished shaft and control natural frequencies and torsional stability. A concurrently engineered manufacturing process and design for performance is described which competes with incumbent solutions at significantly lower weight and with the probability of improved damage tolerance and fatigue life. This phase II proposal seeks to produce additional fatigue test articles to supplement the pair of shafts provided during phase I for static evelauation. The phase II effort will also support the prime contractor test program designed to raise Technology Readiness Level to 6-7.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The rotary wing subtopic 2.10 includes both materials & structures and propulsion components requiring lower weight and higher performance in power transmission components. These include tail rotor drives, tilt-rotor cross-over drives, and tandem rotor connection shafts. Current technology has not changed in decades as it concerns motion accomodating, high torque density driveshafts. Enhanced mission availability and cost reduction can be obtained via the reduced part count and improved fatigue performance already established by this fully integral, all-composite driveshaft technology. Further refinement and preparation of flight qualification test articles is proposed and, once fielded, NASA and NASA partners will also benefit from increased payload.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
In addition to both military and commercial rotary wing programs other extremely weight sensitive driveshaft applications include JSF lift fan flxible shafts and Navy hovercraft/air cushion landing craft. General industrial applications likely to benefit most include very high speed turbomachinery relying on long titanium spacing tubes to stay sub-critical.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Structural Modeling and Tools
Waste Processing and Reclamation
Fluid Storage and Handling
Composites
Energy Storage
Aircraft Engines

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
NanoSonic, Inc.
1485 South Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060-5556
(540) 953-1785

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mike Bortner
mbortner@nanosonic.com
1485 South Main Street
Blacksburg,  VA 24060-0618
(540) 953-1785

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The overall objective of this NASA SBIR program is to develop technology enablers for NASA's rotorcraft vision to facilitate rotorcraft operation in all weather environments. Specifically, NanoSonic will build on its successful completion of Phase I objectives and first generation test article demonstration to optimize, scale up, and qualify high performance, multifunctional, nanostructured, icephobic appliqués with enhanced erosion resistance for rotorblade leading edges. Reliable all-weather service has specifically been identified as one of the barriers to achieving NASA's rotorcraft vision. To truly revolutionize air transportation mobility, rotorcraft must be able to operate in similar environments to current fixed wing vehicles – including environmental conditions in which icing may occur. NanoSonic's multifunctional appliqués will help to enable NASA's rotorcraft vision by completely preventing ice buildup on rotorblades. Implementation of NanoSonic's erosion resistant hydrophobic appliqués will facilitate mission critical operations in icing conditions and mitigate concerns of vibration transmission and shudder that are associated with ice buildup. NanoSonic's appliqués integrate erosion resistant nanocomposites, enhancing rotorcraft operation in high erosion environments. Maintenance and associated costs are reduced, as a new appliqué can be readily placed on the rotorblade leading edge when the existing appliqué has exhausted its functionality.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Of immediate interest to enabling NASA's rotorcraft vision, as the proposed technology is matured and qualified throughout the proposed effort, multiple manufacturers and customers will integrate this technology within their rotorcraft designs to help enable all-weather rotorcraft operation. In addition to rotorcraft, the proposed nanocomposite appliqués will be useful for a wide range of NASA applications where water repellency, minimization of water ingress, or reduced frictional drag is desired. The inherent water repellency provides anti-icing functionality useful in nearly any vehicle or structure for missions where icing or the risk of ice formation inhibits progress. Water repellency also suggests minimized water ingress, minimizing water uptake and potentially enhancing corrosion resistance. Minimization of corrosion on metallic surfaces would minimize maintenance and reduce concerns of potential structural integrity damage resulting from corrosion. Hydrophobic materials can also significantly reduce frictional drag, which may be particularly useful for operation of small exploratory vehicles.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed multifunctional appliqués integrate high durability and hydrophobic functionality, which is marketable to an extremely broad range of applications outside of rotorcraft. Water repellency provides anti-icing functionality useful in nearly any vehicle or structure for missions where icing or the risk of ice formation inhibits progress. Water repellency also suggests minimized water ingress, which is a significant problem in nearly all applications where composites are used for metal replacement. For metallic materials, the proposed materials will minimize corrosion, reducing maintenance and concerns of potential structural integrity damage resulting from corrosion. Similar hydrophobic nanocomposites can also significantly reduce frictional drag, enhancing performance. Commercial applications are nearly limitless, including corrosion protection and frictional drag reduction for higher performance, cost and energy saving commercial aircraft and automobiles. Because of the dynamic applicability of NanoSonic's nanocomposites, the potential market spans from military to civilian, opening the door to endless possibilities in multiple industries.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airframe
Ceramics
Composites
Multifunctional/Smart Materials

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Metron Aviation, Inc.
45300 Catalina Court, Suite 101
Dulles, VA 20166-2335
(703) 234-0819

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jimmy Krozel
krozel@metronaviation.com
45300 Catalina Court, Suite 101
Dulles,  VA 20166-2335
(503) 274-8316

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
We design and develop a Decision Support Tool (DST) that supports On-Demand Special Use Airspace (SUA) scheduling and flight plan optimization around SUA between Airline Operations Control (AOC), Military, Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC), and Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) personnel. The tool allows AOC and ARTCC Traffic Management Unit (TMU) personnel to coordinate strategic and tactical plans, with a strategic look ahead time from days to less than 2 hours, and tactical plans up to the minute centered locally around an ARTCC airspace. The tool coordinates aircraft movement though vs around SUA. The tool allows for asynchronous communication of priorities associated with flight plans and flight plan amendments (contingency plans) between the AOC and ARTCC TMU specialist, allowing the ATCSCC and Military to view these priorities and TMU responses to them at any time. This technology will be developed to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 at the end of Phase I, and TRL 4 prototype system by the end of Phase II.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed tool has application in Air Traffic Management (ATM) Research to study Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC) changes due to SUA usage, and automated Traffic Flow Management (TFM) solutions. The tool may be included into NASA's FACET or ACES simulation environment for benefits studies, or in real-time simulations to study how the Military and Air Traffic Control may collaborate in the future.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed tool has application to military operations for wartime and non-wartime activity. In wartime, the competition for airspace resources can be controlled in a collaborative solution by our tool. In non-wartime civilian airspace, the proposed tool has an application in the management of SUA activity in the NAS, allowing the military to coordinate the activation and de-activation of SUA in collaboration with the FAA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spaceport Infrastructure and Safety
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Pilot Support Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Optical Scientific, Inc.
2 Metropolitan Court, Suite 6
Gaithersburg, MD 20878-4003
(301) 963-3630

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ting-i Wang
tingwang@opticalscientific.com
2 Metropolitan Ct, Suite 6
Gaithersburg,  MD 20878-4008
(301) 963-3630

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 6 to 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Feasibility study including analysis and experiment performed in Phase I indicated that several singled-ended optical scintillometer and retro-reflector pairs installed on towers or poles are able to develop a vertical profile of near ground atmospheric turbulence and wind measurements in airport environment. In Phase II, OSI proposes to design, fabricate and test a prototype optical vertical profile system for atmospheric turbulence and crosswind measurements to provide critical atmospheric parameters for wake vortex decaying forecasting modeling. Several scintillometers will be built with the goal to demonstrate their ability to meet performance, size, weight, and packaging requirements for airport operations. An analytical and field test program will be conducted for further performance improvement of a vertical profile vortex detection system using optical scintillometers to measure near ground level crosswind, turbulence, and wake vortex on an airfield. The results of near ground vortex measurements plus the ground vortex measurements by double-ended optical scintillometers will provide the necessary assessment to design a crosswind, turbulence, and vortex detection system as a decision support tool for NASA's Airspace Systems (AS) Program to improve airport capacity and safety. The vortex detection system could also measure downdraft on the runway. The instrument will provide real-time continuous measurements of convergence and divergence along the runway. Vertical winds, and hence the downdraft, can be derived from the measured divergence. The proposed vortex detection system will also be able to provide critical large area wind information. By incorporating this valuable information into the low-level wind shear modeling, it will greatly enhance the performance of the present airport low-level wind shear systems.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA Airspace Systems (AS) Program has identified that advanced technologies to detect and avoid wake vortex hazards is critical for performing safe, closely spaced and converging approaches at closer distances than are currently allowed. One of the primary interests is Wake Vortex Hazard Solutions that include wake avoidance procedures for airports with closely spaced runways; characterization of wake vortex and atmospheric hazards to flight; and wake vortex alleviation/mitigation technologies. The proposed wake vortex detection system by several optical scintillometers will provide critical real-time vortex information that will increase throughput of an airport runway complex and achieve the highest possible efficiencies in the use of airportal resources. The detection of vortex will entail reduced aircraft wake vortex separation standards for super-density operations. The proposed effort will lead to the development of wake vortex detection system that provides critical information relevant to NASA's NGATS-Airportal effort.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The FAA may require the vortex detection system successfully developed in this SBIR to be incorporated in the NGATS. The vortex detection and avoidance system will improve airport throughput and efficiency. More tests may be required and system may further improved in Phase 3 with FAA that will lead the system to TRL level 9 -the Actual system (flight) proven through successful mission operations. A TRL-9 system certainly has many market opportunities in domestic and international airports. To further expose OSI's products, OSI may team up with a large airport equipments vendor, such as the one with Airport Surface Traffic Configuration Management System. The team-up will lead to the large scale deployment of wake vortex detection systems at airports around the globe.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airport Infrastructure and Safety
Optical

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mosaic ATM, Inc.
801 Sycolin Road, Suite 212
Leesburg, VA 20175-5686
(703) 737-7637

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Bryan Wood
wood@mosaicatm.com
801 Sycolin Road SE, Suite #212
Leesburg,  VA 20175-5686
(800) 405-8576

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3 to 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Although a number of airportal surface models exist and have been successfully used for analysis of airportal operations, only recently has it become possible to conduct detailed validation of such models through the use of airport surface surveillance data. In this effort, we propose to go a step further than existing models, by actually incorporating empirically-derived airport surface control practices into NASA's overall airportal simulation modeling capability. This effort will produce tools to support fundamental research of the concept and requirements for airportal operations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) by providing microscopic airportal surface modeling components that provide higher fidelity and greater validity of modeling than previously available. Through this effort we will use the Surface Operations Data Analysis and Adaptation (SODAA) tool to conduct detailed analysis of airport surface operations using actual data.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This Phase 2 SBIR supports the research of airport operations toward implement of NextGen operational improvements. Until recently detailed analyses of airport surface operations could only be conducted through visual observation of taxi routes, runway occupancy times, and sequencing decisions whereas now it is possible to analyze such details using airport surface surveillance data through the use of the SODAA tool. We expect that the research and development components of this Phase 2 effort will be of greatest value to NASA and to the FAA to enable such analyses to be conducted more efficiently and effectively. The most likely commercialization and Phase 3 activities involve further development of the airport surface analysis capabilities begun in Phases 1 and 2. These capabilities will be used by NASA and other research organizations to further study operations on the airport surface.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The FAA requires detailed collection of operational metrics to support measurement of operational performance and investment analysis for new systems. The SODAA tool is already being used to support FAA programs in the conduct of Concept and Requirements Development. We expect that this use of SODAA and the analysis capabilities to be developed in this Phase 2 effort will be expanded further. The airport operations analyses that are enabled through the SODAA tool and the enhancements to be created through this Phase 2 effort also provide valuable analysis capabilities for airlines, fleet operators, airports, and other organizations in the aviation industry. Through the use of these microscopic analysis tools, airlines can refine their schedules and procedures to optimize their operation on the airport surface.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Simulation Modeling Environment
Airport Infrastructure and Safety
Expert Systems
Software Tools for Distributed Analysis and Simulation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Waddan Systems
8801 Encino Avenue
Northridge, CA 91325-3228
(661) 257-4172

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mahendra Singh
mahendra@waddansystems.com
8801 Encino Avenue
Northridge,  CA 91325-3228
(661) 257-4172

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Development of an Aircraft Nodal Data Acquisition System (ANDAS) based upon the short haul Zigbee networking standard is proposed. It employs a very thin (135 um) hybrid microminiature sensor assembly (MSA) and a host module with USB interface. At several nodes on the aircarft, MSAs are cemented for measurement. They transmit the measured data to the host module plugged into a PC. The MSA incorporates an integrated sensor (capable of measuring pressure, temperature, acceleration and surface strains), a microcontroller, a Zigbee transceiver and a battery for power. The host module incorporates a microcontroller and a Zigbee transceiver. In Phase I these modules were designed after trade-off analyses and experimental evaluation of the sensors and networking hardware. Based upon the design, the PCB packages for the MSA and the host module were built for initial characterization and testing during Phase II. In this phase the MSA design would be refined as a cement-and-forget-device (except for the battery).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Test and measurement of airplanes during flight as well as on ground with various simulated loading scenario. Devices cab used in hard to reach remote locations and locations to which hardwired instrumentation is not possible. The low cost MSAs are designed for cement-and-forget applications with long battery life. By adding real time aircraft dynamic modal assessment software, real-time correlation and control algorithms, the MSA could be utilized in light weight, flexible and unstable aircraft structures.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The resulting technology can be employed many commercial test applications. It can also be used in hard to access or remotely located nodes on any structural test and measuremnt scenario. Examples of these applications include monitoring of power plants, vehicle engines, medically implanted devices for monitoring of human body etc.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Integrated Robotic Concepts and Systems
Airframe
Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI)
Launch and Flight Vehicle
Simulation Modeling Environment
Testing Facilities
Testing Requirements and Architectures
Structural Modeling and Tools
On-Board Computing and Data Management
Pilot Support Systems
Biomedical and Life Support
Architectures and Networks
Autonomous Control and Monitoring
RF
Instrumentation
Data Acquisition and End-to-End-Management
Data Input/Output Devices
Portable Data Acquisition or Analysis Tools
Portable Life Support
Highly-Reconfigurable

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Research Support Instruments, Inc.
4325-B Forbes Blvd.
Lanham, MD 20706-4854
(301) 306-0010

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
John Kline
kline@researchsupport.com
4325-B Forbes Blvd.
Lanham,  MD 20706-4854
(978) 689-0003

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4 to 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Research Support Instruments, Inc. (RSI) proposes to develop the Friction-Sensing Reflector Array Patches (FRAP), a technology that will measure the shear stress distribution on aerodynamic surfaces in ground test facilities with high resolution, sensitivity, and bandwidth. Unlike the oil-film interference method, FRAP patches will not be thinned as a function of time during a test. No knowledge of the streamlines of the flow will be needed in order to calculate the local stress distribution; this will avoid the tracers needed with the oil-film interference approach. Flexible patches of FRAP arrays, inexpensive due to simple, mass-production-compatible microfabrication techniques, will be interrogated using a light source and camera. FRAP will be independent of the flow species and applied as a very thin, flexible, adhesive material. The Phase II goals will be to improve the design and fabrication of the sensors, fully calibrate taking into account competing effects such as normal forces and temperature, demonstrate feasibility in a wide range of test environments from subsonic to heated and cold supersonic, and provide prototype units to NASA. The result will be a product that will address a critical NASA instrumentation need.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
RSI will use its experience in microfabricated structures and sensors to employ a highly innovative technology – a sheer-stress-sensing reflecting array – in order to non-intrusively measure skin friction in NASA ground test facilities. The FRAP technology will avoid the use of a depleted fluid and tracer elements that are inherent to the existing oil film interferometry method, and will address a key NASA need for non-instrusive diagnostics as well as flight test diagnostics and vehicle monitoring.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Several non-Government applications are possible. Flow sensors have a lucrative commercial market in manufacturing (for process monitoring) and medical diagnostics, as well a healthy market in scientific applications. Commercialized flow sensors are used in applications ranging from industrial processing and medical diagnostics to high-speed shock testing in chemical explosions. It is expected that the newly developed FRAP arrays will compete aggressively in these existing markets. In addition to NASA, target U.S. government customers will be the Air Force (for ground testing, flight tests, and vehicle monitoring) and the Navy (for similar applications).

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Testing Facilities
Telemetry, Tracking and Control
Instrumentation
Optical
Sensor Webs/Distributed Sensors
Composites
Multifunctional/Smart Materials

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Traclabs, Inc.
8620 N. New Braunfels Avenue, Suite 603
San Antonio, TX 78217-3856
(210) 637-7819

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Russell Bonasso
r.p.bonasso@nasa.gov
8610 N. New Braunfels, Suite 110
San Antonio,  TX 78217-0000
(281) 483-2738

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3 to 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Automation and autonomy are key elements in realizing the vision for space exploration. The NASA Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) has been developing several core autonomy capabilities, one of which is called a procedure representation language (PRL). PRL can be automatically translated into code that can be executed by NASA-developed autonomous executives. Another type of automation being developed by ETDP is automated planning aids. These will be needed to increase the number of missions that existing levels of flight personnel must be able to handle. But PRL has few constructs to enable automated planners and schedulers to take advantage of the procedures resulting from PRL. In Phase 1 we developed extensions to PRL to add planning information – resource, constraints and sub-procedural information – so as to produce code useable by automated planning software. In this project, we propose to develop an interactive planning aid for flight controllers to show that such an aid can process our enhanced PRL files to generate mission plans and to test their feasibility via an execution system. Besides refining our previous modeling efforts, this work will show that the availability of computer-useable planning information can lead to practical applications of NASA's automated planning efforts.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Procedures are at the core of all NASA missions, especially human space missions. Mission planning is also at the core of all space missions due to the high cost of space assets such as astronauts, equipment and communication links. Our technologies will have applications across many NASA programs, from Mission Control to on-board NASA vehicles and outposts. We expect applications of our technology to immediately impact NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). Two areas of ETDP will be immediate beneficiaries of this technology. First, the Centaur robot at NASA JSC is already using a preliminary version of PRL and a simple user interface to allow a remote supervisor to command the Centaur over a communication link. Our work will provide connection to automated planning technologies. Second, the Automation for Operations (A4O) project run out of NASA ARC is using PRL to enhance spacecraft operations. Our PRL extensions and planning technology would also be immediately applicable to spacecraft operations. We will work closely with representatives of both of these projects (Dr. Robert Ambrose at NASA JSC and Dr. Jeremy Frank at NASA ARC respectively) during Phase 1 to ensure our relevance to these two projects.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The military is currently a large customer for unmanned vehicle operations. Unmanned vehicles, both air and ground, are becoming more common in battlefield situations. In addition, Congress has mandated that one-third of all military vehicles must be unmanned by 2015. As these unmanned vehicles are increasingly deployed in tandem with dismounted forces coordinating software will be necessary to ensure successful operations. Procedures and mission planning play a large role in these kinds of operations. We also see a need for procedures and planning in operations such as refineries, chemical plants, nuclear and other power plants and any installation that has established standard operating procedures that must be carefully followed under often stressful situations, but whose procedures are currently paper, just like NASA's. Moving these industries to electronic procedures tied to system telemetry and integrated with planning will allow for more efficient and safer operations. We expect to tailor PRL and our PRL-related software to these industries and team with existing operators to evaluate and embed our software. Thousands of such facilities exist in the United States alone. Even with a small market penetration, TRACLabs Inc. will have significant revenues to invest in new products and services.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Autonomous Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
Database Development and Interfacing
Human-Computer Interfaces
Software Development Environments

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
S&K Aerospace
63066 Old Hwy 93
St Ignatius, MT 59865-9008
(406) 745-7500

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Arthur Molin
amolin@ska-corp.com
63066 Old Hwy 93
St Ignatius,  MT 59865-9008
(281) 480-1453

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 7 to 8

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA captures and distributes operational knowledge in the form of procedures. These procedures are created and accessed by a range of people performing many different jobs. These people have different needs for procedure data and different ways of interacting with procedures. We propose an Procedure Integrated Development Environment which will present different editing modes and different views depending on the users and tasks, but will use a consistent data representation for all users. We propose to connect the editing environment to other tools and systems that are useful to procedure development, including recon databases and verification tools. We propose to build this environment on the basis of an existing prototype, PRIDE, which was developed for the Engineering Directorate of Johnson Space Center.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
An integrated development environment for procedures would improve the efficiency of the procedure authors by allowing them to concentrate on the fields in which they are expert, without worrying about details of editing and formatting. It would present each user with a procedure view that is most useful for the job at hand. It would connect up to the needed data sources and other related tools, such as workflow tools. It would provide a direct interface to simulation tools, which allow users to work out problems with procedures at the desktop, instead of requiring expensive high-fidelity simulations to be run to find minor problems.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
A procedure development environment would be potentially useful to a wide range of commercial and industrial interests that use a large number of procedures in their business. The electronic procedures that are proposed here would be of considerable interest to those industries that rely on procedures that could be automated, due to the availability of data sources. These industries include oil and chemical processing, power plants, and robotic assembly plants.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Human-Robotic Interfaces
Operations Concepts and Requirements
Autonomous Reasoning/Artificial Intelligence
Data Acquisition and End-to-End-Management
Human-Computer Interfaces
Software Development Environments
Software Tools for Distributed Analysis and Simulation